Google can now use your connected Gmail and Photos to shape ads. How to keep it off
· 2 min read · Drafted with AI help, reviewed by Kepler Oates
For five years, Google promised it would not use what is in your Gmail, Google Photos or Drive to target ads. That promise now has an exception. A privacy policy update that took effect on October 16 lets Google use data from those apps to personalize ads, but only if you have connected them to its AI features, PPC Land and Dexerto report.
What changed
The old promise. Since July 2021, Google's privacy policy said it does not show personalized ads based on content from Drive, Gmail or Photos, PPC Land reports.
The new exception. The updated policy allows it when you choose to make that data available to Google services that support personalized ads, according to the policy wording quoted by Dexerto.
Where it shows up. The change ties to Personal Intelligence, the opt-in feature that lets Search's AI Mode and other Google tools draw on your email, photos and files. PPC Land says only Search is described as using that data for ads, and Google confirmed around October 16 that it began testing ads in AI Mode for people using Personal Intelligence.
Who can turn it on. Google's help page limits connecting apps to people 18 and older with a personal Google account, PPC Land notes.
What Google says
Ads "will not be based directly" on your inbox or photo library, according to Google's help page as quoted by PPC Land. They may draw on summaries and inferences made from your connected data.
Advertisers don't get access to your Gmail or Photos, Google says.
Ads still aren't personalized on sensitive categories such as race, religion, sexual orientation or health, the policy says.
What is still unclear
PPC Land points to open questions: how a "summary" differs in practice from the content itself, how sensitive emails such as medical appointments are filtered out, and whether there is any separate consent for ads beyond turning on Personal Intelligence.
InteractiveHow to keep your Gmail and Photos out of adsTap a step, or use Next.
See if you turned on Personal Intelligence The new rule only applies if you connected Gmail, Photos or other apps to Google's AI features. If you never did, it doesn't apply to you.
Disconnect the apps you don't want used Remove Gmail, Google Photos and other connected apps from Personal Intelligence in your Google settings.
Turn off personalized recommendations Dexerto points to the Personalized Recommendations setting in your Google Account as a second way to avoid it.
Review your Search history Disconnecting doesn't automatically delete data already saved in your Search history, so delete what you don't want kept.
It's opt-in, so you're in control. Nothing changes unless you connected your apps to Google's AI features. If you did, decide whether the convenience is worth it.
Think before connecting work or money email. Google itself advises against connecting apps with personal or confidential information, PPC Land notes, and some of what AI Mode processes is reviewed by people.
The bigger trend: free AI assistants are getting ads, and the more they know about you, the more valuable those ads are. That trade is worth checking every time you click "connect."
Not financial advice. This summarizes public reporting for information only. It is not investment, tax or legal advice. Do your own research or talk to a licensed professional.
